


The Looking Glass, So Shiny and New

by DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee



Series: Ave Maria [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Genius Howard Stark, Genius Maria Stark, Howard Stark's A+ people skills, rich people being rich
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-14
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 13:26:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3174878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee/pseuds/DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You still can’t make that car fly, can you?”<br/>“No"<br/>“I could help.” <br/>“No, no, no, I’ll get it.” <br/>“If you say so.” <br/>“I do.” </p>
<p>Howard Stark and Maria Carbonell, brilliant minds could think alike if one wasn't so busy trying to eclipse the other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Looking Glass, So Shiny and New

“Howard.”

            “Maria.”

            The ballroom is hot, oppressive and stuffy like most of the people gathered within its confines.  She is dazzling, he is dashing, but all that is rather superfluous when surrounded by the rising tide of wealth and excess.  One would think the Depression would have quelled such extravagance, but it has only enflamed it.  Maria would shift uncomfortably in the muggy closeness of all that glitters but she is too well trained for that. 

            The daughters of celebrated Italian architects do not show discomfort. Especially not in front of Americans.

            Howard would tug at the tie that seems to be strangling him slowly but he is too well bred for that. 

            The sons of robber barons and geniuses do not show anything less than perfect composure.  Especially not in front of Italians. 

            “You still can’t make that car fly, can you?” Maria slices through Howard’s attempts at charming small talk.

            “No,” he admits with a wry twist of the mouth, lips rolling beneath his mustache and Maria doesn’t stare the way other girls would because she’s too distracted pondering the issue of Howard’s stubbornly earthbound car.

            “I could help.”

            “No, no, no, I’ll get it.”

            “If you say so.”

            “I do.”

            Silence as they sip their champagne and Howard tries to remember why he let his father drag him away from school for this and Maria tries to avoid the scorching gazes of Howard’s horde of female admirers.  The song changes and Howard suddenly turns to her, elegantly extracting her half-empty glass from her fingers and favoring her with a charming smile even as he drains the last of her drink.  “Shall we dance?” he asks, setting both empty glasses aside on a passing tray and holding his hands out for her to take. 

            She raises her eyebrows and her fingers to rest across his, rolling her eyes as he brings them up to his lips for a brief kiss across her knuckles before dragging her out to the dance floor.  They whirl through the glittering diamond snowstorm of their world and Howard surprises her a second time. 

            “Tell me how you would fix my little levitation issue,” he winks at her and she matches him flirtation for flirtation, invading his space a bit more as she purrs her ideas into his ear. 

            And the thing, the great, cosmic catch to it all is that they _are_ good ideas. 

            But Howard still breezes into the next society function and the first thing Maria says to him is “You didn’t try any of my suggestions, did you?”

            “Oh, you know, busy, busy, busy!” he waves her away, turning to his flock of enraptured, innocent twits. 

            Maria snorts at his foolishness and snags another drink and another handsome face to watch melt into lines of adoration that never reach either of their brains.

            Howard’s car won’t fly for another few years.

**Author's Note:**

> The title is another reference to Florence + Machine's 'Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)'. I feel that it describes Maria Stark's life with surprising accuracy.


End file.
